Hypodermic syringe destroyer



Oct. 8, 1968 ARCARESE ET AL 3,404,593

HYPODERMIC SYHINGE DESTROYER Filed July 1, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS JOSEPH .r ARCARESE 650m: can/v01:

JAMES s. awe-my A ORNEY Oct. 8, 1968 J J. ARCARESE ET AL 3,404,593

HYPODERMIC SYRINGE DESTROYER Filed July 1, 1966 s Sheets-Sheet 2 E86 11v vew raps JOSEPH J. ARCARESE' GEORGE con/v04 JAMES 5. de BERRY ATTORNEY HYPODERMIC SYRINGE DESTROYER 5 Sheets-Sheet '&

Filed July 1, 1966 A s z E MFA 7A0 NMM WAO mi .m i w M a n .7 7

AT TORN'EY United States Patent 3,404,593 HYPODERMIC SYRINGE DESTROYER Joseph J. Arcarese, North Hollywood, George Coanda, Burbank, and James S. de Berry, La Canada, Callfi, assignors, by mesne assignments, to American Hospital Supply Corporation, a corporation of Illinois Filed July 1, 1966, Ser. No. 562,319

7 Claims. (Cl. 83167) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE For destroying a hypodermic syringe after a single use, a rectangular cabinet with an Openable front panel and a removable box having an open top within the cabinet. Over an opening in the cabinet top is a housing having a pair of aligned holes through walls of the housing. A shearing cutter pivoted inside the housing slices through a syringe fitting through the holes in the housing walls with severed portions of the syringe dropping down into the box.

This invention relates to a device that severs used hypodermic syringes so they cannot be used to give further injections.

Today most injections are given with disposable hypodermic syringes which are supplied to hospitals and doctors ofiices in sterile packages. Each hypodermic syringe is discarded after a single use, so there is no chance to cross-contaminate patients.

A disposable hypodermic syringe is intended for onetime use, but the syringe can give many injections. These syringes can be dangerous if children or narcotic addicts get hold of them. The present practice is to periodically gather all used hypodermic syringes and burn them in a hospital incinerator. Our invention has to do with a device for severing a syringe, particularly the needle, immediately after use and before the syringe is incinerated. Our hypodermic syringe destroyer is compact and can be located in an area near where injections are given. For instance, a syringe destroyer can be placed on each floor or in each wing of a hospital.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device for destroying a hypodermic needle.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device that severs a hypodermic syringe, depositing severed parts into a lockable cabinet.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a hypodermic syringe destroyer which can sever a protector encased cannula and an adapter of a syringe barrel.

These and other objects of this invention will become more readily apparent upon further description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the hypodermic syringe destroyer;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the FIGURE 1 embodiment showing the cutter means of the destroyer;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of a movable member of the cutter means of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the movable member of the cutter means of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of another embodiment of the cutter means showing it in its neutral position ready to receive a syringe;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of the cutter of FIG URE 6 showing it in its position after severing a syringe; and

FIGURE 8 is a section taken along line 8-8 of FIG- URE 6 with a syringe in the syringe cutter.

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Referring to the drawings, the hypodermic syringe destroyer includes a cabinet 1 with an openable section 2 in one side. A removable container 3 fits inside cabinet 1 and can be locked inside with a padlock put through tab 9.

In a top wall 19 of cabinet 1 is an entrance port 40 over which is bolted a cutter means 10. This cutter means severs a hypodermic syringe, dropping severed portions through the entrance port into the removable container 3.

The cutter means 10 includes a housing 11 with a movable member 15 pivotally mounted by pivot means 17 inside housing 11. A handle portion 16 of the movable member 15 extends outwardly through a handle opening 18 in the housing 11.

This movable member is perhaps best shown in FIG- URES 4 and 5. The movable member 15 is comprised of a pair of arms and 81 which are joined together and are bent outwardly to form a bifurcation adjacent their pivotal end. Each outwardly bent portion of arms 80 and 81 has permanently aflixed thereto shearing elemerits and 86 of hardened steel. A pivot hole 88 in movable member 15 receives a pivot means 17.

The hypodermic syringe cutter as shown in the embodiment in FIGURE 3 operates as follows. First, a nurse or physician inserts a cannula 97 and protector 98 of syringe through two axially aligned apertures 60 and 61 in housing 11. Cannula 97 and protector 98 extend across a first chamber 55 defined. by the first wall 50 and second wall 51 into a second chamber defined by a second wall 51 and third wall 52. The third wall 52 acts as a stop for the syringe. The nurse or physician then pushes down on handle portion 16 pivoting the shearing elements 85 and 86 about pivot means 17. On the downward stroke the shearing element 85 cuts through protector 98, hub 96 and adapter 91 of syringe 90. Shear ing element 86 shears across aperture 61 and severs protector 98 and cannula 97. The severed portions of the syringe then drop through entrance port 40 into removable container 3. To insure clean cuts through the syringe, apertures 60 and 61 preferably have hardened steel inwardly extending collars 65 and 66 with flat shearing surfiaces.

In the first embodiment of our invention in FIGURES 1-5, the syringe is inserted through axially aligned apertures 60 and 61 in a position approximately parallel to the top wall of cabinet 1. In the second embodiment of our invention in FIGURES 6-8, the syringe is inserted through apertures 76 and 77 which are substantially perpendicular to a top wall of cabinet 1. In FIGURES 6 and 8, apertures 76 and 77 of :a U-shaped housing 70 are aligned with a hole 78 of movable member 71. Thus, a syringe can be inserted therethrough as shown in FIG- URE 8. The operator cocks the handle portion 72 as shown in FIGURE 7 to sever the hypodermic syringe in two places, dropping the severed portions into cabinet 1.

Our syringe destroyer is capable of maintaining all portions of the used severed hypodermic syringe within cabinet 1. If the barrel is very small, as for instance 1 cc., it can be inserted into housing 11 and. cut in the same way as the protector, thus depositing all parts into cabinet 1 through entrance port 40. On the larger size syringes, an opening 8 is provided in the top of cabinet 1 for depositing these large barrels. Periodically, the severed portions of the used contaminated syringes are removed in container 3 and taken to the hospital incinerator. It is also possible to use a plastic liner or sack inside removable container 3 to catch the severed portions of the syringes. Then one can carry this sack full of severed portions to the incinerator.

In the above specification we have used specific examples to illustrate our invention. It is understood, however, that persons skilled in the art can make certain modifications to these specific examples without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

We claim:

1. A hypodermic syringe destroyer comprising: a closed cabinet with an openable section; a removable container within said cabinet; said cabinet having an entrance port through a wall thereof; a housing connected to the cabinet over said entrance port, said housing having a plurality of spaced walls, two of which have axially aligned apertures for receiving a hypodermic syringe; and a movable cutter member mounted inside said housing, said movable cutter member having a pair of cutting surfaces adapted to shear across surfaces of the spaced walls adjacent said apertures for severing a hypodermic syringe in two places, whereby a severed syringe portion can drop through the entrance port and into the container.

2. A hypodermic syringe destroyer as set forth in claim 1 wherein the housing includes three spaced walls dividing said housing into first and second chambers, the walls of the first chamber having axially aligned apertures for receiving a hypodermic needle; said cutter means also including a movable member pivotally mounted inside said housing, said movable member having a handle portion extending outwardly through a handle opening in the housing and having a pair of cutting surfaces adapted to shear across the surfaces of said walls of the first chamber adjacent said apertures to sever a hypodermic needle in two places.

3. A hypodermic syringe destroyer as set forth in claim 1 wherein each aperture has an inwardly projecting rigid collar surrounding it and each collar has a flat shearing surface for engagement with one of the cutting surfaces of said movable member.

4. A hypodermic syringe destroyer as set forth in claim 1 wherein the apertures in said housing are aligned along an axis which is generally perpendicular to the cabinet wall with said entrance port.

5. A hypodermic syringe destroyer as set forth in claim 1 wherein the apertures in said housing are aligned along an axis which is generally parallel to the cabinet wall with said entrance port.

6. A hypodermic syringe destroyer as set forth in claim 1 wherein the cabinet has in addition to said entrance port an opening in a wall thereof sufficiently large for depositing a syringe barrel into said container.

7. A hypodermic syringe cutter means for use with a receptacle for severed portions of hypodermic syringes; said cutter means including a housing having first and second chambers, each open at a bottom thereof, said housing having first, second and third spaced walls, the first and third walls being external walls of said housing and the second wall segregating said housing into said first and second chambers; said first and second walls having axially aligned apertures adapted to receive a protector encased hypodermic needle which can extend across the first chamber and into said second chamber; and a movable member bifurcated at one end into two arms that are pivotally mounted inside said chamber, which movable member has a handle portion at an opposite end that extends outwardly through a handle opening in said housing, said bifurcated arms of the movable member each having permanently aflixed thereto a shearing element with these shearing elements adapted to shear across surfaces of said first and second walls adjacent their apertures to sever a hypodermic needle in two places, dropping severed portions of a hypodermic needle through the open bottoms of said chambers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,292,181 1/1919 Webb 83-167 1,864,830 6/1932 Johnson 8l167 X 2,176,552 10/1939 Vocaturo 241-99 X 2,209,859 7/ 1940 Taylor 83-167 2,740,410 4/ 1956 Harris 83-607 X FOREIGN PATENTS 535,391 10/1931 Germany.

ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Primary Examiner. 

